Talbots sees 4Q earns 35c-37c vs. Wall St. est. 37c

MichaelBaron

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Talbots Inc.
TLB, -3.43%
Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings of $20 million, or 37 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $27.2 million, or 49 cents a share. The year-ago results include a tax benefit of $$4.5 million, or 8 cents a share. Sales at the Hingham, Mass., specialty apparel retailer rose 3% in the latest three months to $426.3 million from $413.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Same-store sales slipped 2% in the period. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 36 cents a share in the October period. The company said its store traffic and sales performance "improved significantly" in the latter part of October. Looking ahead, Talbots sees earnings of 35 to 37 cents a share in the fourth quarter. Wall Street's current consensus estimate for the January quarter is for a profit of 37 cents a share. The stock closed Tuesday at $27.16, down 4.3%.

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